Comparison of influence of Thai and Japanese cultures on reasoning in social communication using simulated crowds

• Main Authors: Sutasinee Thovuttikul, Yoshimasa Ohmoto, Toyoaki Nishida
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
• Series: Journal of Information and Telecommunication
• Subjects: Cultural learning system; perception on different culture; fairness; waiting behaviour; simulated crowd
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/24751839.2018.1537557
• ISSN: 2475-1839; 2475-1847

Difficulties living in unfamiliar cultures are caused by differences in patterns of thinking, points of view, and physical action styles. Learning to understand these different styles is one solution that may help people to live together with their differences. This paper presents our findings on learners’ cultural understanding during interaction based on culturally influenced communication in simulated crowds. Japanese and Thai participants were asked to obtain multiple tickets available at two service counters, A and B, in a shared virtual space, where a service person provided a ticket upon request. Virtual customers moved around in the system to acquire tickets and, if a counter was occupied by a customer, other customers had to wait. Two types of waiting styles (line and group) and two service person fairness levels (fair and unfair) were configured and the reactions of participants evaluated. Furthermore, the counter selection results and selection reasoning results were analysed using the ANOVA process. The results showed that culture influences ideas of waiting differently between Japanese and Thai participants: Japanese participants focused on the benefits of waiting, such as waiting speed, whereas Thai participants focused on the reaction or response of the service person to customers.